Hilary Rawk

When I told my friends I was interviewing Danny Masterson--best known as Hyde from "That 70s Show"--each inevitable first response was, "Cool! Tell him I want to join `The Circle.'" And in my adorable ignorance, I could only respond, "The ummm...what?! Oooooh! `The Circle'...hahaha...right." Well, it turns out that Danny M. has very little in common with his TV persona. But what he does share with Hyde are his laid-back personality, a tiny bit of that quirky conspiracy theory-ism and his love for 1970s funk-rock.

After a successful eight-year run on "That 70s Show," Masterson has been focusing lately on music and art--hosting a successful radio show on L.A.'s Indie 103.1, coordinating gallery shows to promote up-and-coming artists and touring the country as DJ MomJeans, aka DJ Donkey Punch aka DJ Donkey Pizzle. His newest DJ moniker, MomJeans, is a tribute to the "nine-inch zipper."

Masterson grew up listening to his mother's records--mostly "1970s, early eighties kind of funk-rock and Motown," he says. "And then in the early eighties, [I] started getting really into Run DMC, and then all of a sudden hair metal and hip-hop." He started DJing with a friend of his back in 1999, and his buddy DJ AM taught him how to mix and beat match in 2001.

According to Danny, the secret to being a good DJ is to: 1. Play awesome music that makes your balls rattle. 2. Not train-wreck all of your mixes. 3. Be original.

A few of his favorite artists: Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Jackson Brown, Run DMC, The Rolling Stones, Bloc Party, The White Stripes, The Rakes.

He just started a month-long cross-country tour with Steve Aoki, which they sweet-talked a few, huge corporations into sponsoring. His plan for the tour? "Run around and DJ and have a really good time," he says, and "play fun, goofy music." (Hilary Rawk)

DJ MomJeans joins Steve Aoki and resident DJs Mark Gertz, Trancid and Greg Corner at Debonair Social Club, 1575 North Milwaukee, (773)227-7990, May 10 at 9pm. No cover.

(2007-05-08)

Also by Hilary Rawk

Master of Trades
Joakim is one of those incredibly diverse musicians with a repertoire so varied it absolutely defies definition
(2007-04-24)

Crobar Craze
Guests are greeted by distinguished door staff wearing suits and ties, handed gold crowns and goodie bags and treated to forty-ounces of Bud in paper bags, buckets of ice filled with Jell-O shots and passed hors d'ouevres
(2007-04-03)

Global Electro
German electro-rock duo Digitalism makes super-fun dance music "for your ears and your feet."
(2007-03-20)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment